


Safe

by MerryLilHobbit



Series: Cabin on the Lake (Walter/Daniels stories) [8]
Category: Alien Series, Alien: Covenant
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death In Dream, Children, David can get fucked, David says a few sexual things but it's David so of course he does, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Robot/Human Relationships, Romance, Walter is protective of his family, not literally though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 06:37:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13518591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerryLilHobbit/pseuds/MerryLilHobbit
Summary: David’s actions continue to haunt Daniels, even years later when she's living on Origae-6.





	Safe

**Author's Note:**

> I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS PLEASE DON’T HATE ME :(
> 
> Some gore/horror elements ahead, but it ends in a fluffy and hurt/comfort way!

_Daniels was humming as she pushed the door to the cabin open, smiling to herself at the sight of the lake sparkling under the setting sun; it was a warm evening, and she was tired after a day’s work. She couldn’t wait to relax with her family, just being with them._

_As she closed the door behind her, however, she was met only with silence; no children laughing or chattering, no smells wafting from the kitchen, nothing. Immediately the hairs on the back of her neck rose, a chill running through her as she peered around the dimly-lit cabin._

_“Walter?” She called quietly, frowning as she took a few steps forward. “Jacob? Maggie?”_

_Something was definitely wrong – they always, without fail, answered her. Walter would have heard her, his superior hearing picking up much more than the human ear could, and he would have answered her. Fear and panic made her tense up, and her first instinct was to search the cabin for her family – her second was to flee._

_“Walter?” Daniels repeated, louder this time. “Walter, are you home?”_

_No answer._

_“This isn’t funny,” She said, forcing herself to remain calm. “If Jacob and Maggie have convinced you to hide, to play some kind of prank-”_

_“I’m afraid not.”_

_The cold and calculating voice made her spin around, and she was met with a familiar face; it was a face she had grown to love, a face she saw every morning and every night, the face that gazed at her adoringly and smiled contently when with their children. But it wasn’t him. She knew the difference – she’d be able to tell her Walter from all the others, without fail, and this wasn’t him._

_“David,” Daniels whispered, terrified as she looked at him; he was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, smiling rather casually. “David, what are you… Where’s…”_

_“How lovely of you to return home, Danny,” David said calmly, and the fact he used the nickname for her that Walter did made her want to vomit. “I’ve been waiting for you. Wonderful cabin, I must say, even if it’s not quite to my own tastes.”_

_Something about his comment on the cabin snapped her out of her shock, and she found herself balling her fists up as she glared at him. “Where is Walter?!” She refrained from mentioning the children – if there was a chance, however small, that he didn’t know about them, then the last thing she wanted was for him to become aware of their existence._

_“You’re not even happy to see me? I’m disappointed, Danny-”_

_“Where the_ fuck _is Walter?!”_

_David’s mouth curled into a smirk. “Oh, he’s been taken care of, I assure you.”_

_“What did you do to him?” She snarled, even though a tremor of fear ran through her at his words._

_“He put up very little fight,” The synthetic mused, as if recounting something as mundane as driving. “I was rather disappointed – but then again, I suppose you could say that I did attack rather silently.”_

_Rage was clouding her vision, and Daniels wanted nothing more than to lurch forward and attack him – but she knew she had no chance of winning against him in a fight, knew she had to be careful if she wanted to outsmart him. “You bastard…”_

_David stepped forwards, still smiling to himself. “Tell me, did Walter help you build this cabin? Charming, I must say… He was very fond of you, Daniels, even if he denied it – or maybe he didn’t?” He stopped a few feet away from her, and there was a glint in his eyes. “I have the feeling you felt the same. Have you been living with him all these years? Did he think you loved him too?”_

_Daniels glared at him, wishing she was closer to the knife block in the kitchen, or perhaps that she’d brought a gun with her from the colony; she had refused to keep guns in the cabin, especially once the children had been born. She had no way of attacking him and surviving, and she knew it – and he knew it too._

_“Was he as much a disappointment in the bedroom as he was to me? He was always an inferior model, so I can imagine that his skills in that area were rather limited.” David’s smirk widened, a sign he was enjoying himself. “Did you say his name as he made you climax? Or did you close your eyes and imagine your precious Jacob?”_

_Before she could stop herself, she had raised her hand and slapped him across the face; he barely flinched, even as she gave a wince at the pain that shot through her hand._

_“You amuse me, Danny,” David chuckled quietly. “Surely you know by now that you’re no match for my strength? Ah, well, humans do learn slowly…” As she straightened up, he gestured to the kitchen. “If you’re so desperate to see him, he’s in there.”_

_It was almost certainly a trap, and she wasn’t about to fall for it; Daniels gritted her teeth together and merely glared at him. If he was going to kill her, she wasn’t going to make it easy for him._

_“Apparently not. Ah well, perhaps you didn’t reciprocate his feelings as much as he had hoped…” He took another step closer, his expression turning more twisted and amused by the second. “I imagine you’ll want to see your children, however.”_

_And just like that, Daniels felt the fight leave her._

_“Yes, I met your children,” David continued, enjoying her discomfort. “Not quite as perfect as my own children, of course, but I can see why you and Walter were so fond of them.”_

_“What did you do to them?!” Daniels snarled, and she couldn’t stop the tears from forming in her eyes as she grabbed him by his shirt collar. “If you’ve hurt them, I’ll fuck up your circuits so bad that your dismembered head won’t even be able to_ blink _-”_

_“Walter tried to protect them,” He informed her, his tone one of mock-sadness. “But children are so fragile – all it took was a single second, and I managed to snap the boy’s neck.”_

_“You’re lying!”_

_David tilted his head slightly. “The girl started screaming, and your precious Walter was so occupied with attempting to help the boy that I managed to grab her and…well. Hers was much easier to break.”_

_“You sick bastard!” Daniels growled, but she was starting to feel sick. “You’re lying, there’s no way you’ve hurt them…Walter wouldn’t have let you…”_

_“He was so distressed over the death of the girl,” He informed her, quite gleefully. “He was even weeping real tears. It was so easy to get rid of him, to rip out his motherboard and dismantle him…”_

_“No…No, it’s not true…”_

_David looked smug. “Your children were so small – unlike Walter, however, they’re useful. I’ve already begun experimenting on them, and they’ll do nicely for my engineering… I’m afraid that I’ve ruined your kitchen, however, but blood can be rather messy…”_

_Daniels didn’t even think about it: she immediately released David and rushed to the kitchen, her heart pounding in her ears and tears blurring her vision. As she drew closer, a vile stench hit her, nearly making her gag; she could feel her lungs struggling to breathe, entire body shaking and feeling like it was about to collapse on her as she stopped in the doorway._

_The sight that greeted her was horrendous: blood was splattered up the walls and on the floor, footprints left imprinted from where David had walked across the kitchen. Near the stove, she saw Walter’s lifeless body crumpled in a heap; he’d been hacked apart, limb from limb, and a pool of white fluid surrounded him. A sob escaped her mouth at the sight of her lover, and yet she continued to stare. When she finally managed to look away, she found her eyes drawn to the kitchen table – and she immediately wished she hadn’t looked._

_Jacob and Maggie: their bodies were laid out on the table, already dissected and their organs hanging out of them. The sight made Daniels collapse to her knees, her cries and sobs unrestrained now. Her children – her beautiful, intelligent children who she had loved and brought into this world – were dead, they were mutilated, they were_ gone _. Jacob, with his freckles and boyish smile…Maggie, with laughter like music and cherub cheeks…_

_She had no fight left in her. It felt like a part of her had died at the sight of them, and she didn’t struggle when David’s hands found her – she did nothing as he smothered her, no reaction as he started to talk of the ‘fun’ he would have with her…there was nothing._

_“Don’t worry, Daniels,” David murmured. “I will give you children…better, more perfect children…”_

* * *

 

Daniels woke up sobbing and sweating, her hands reaching out in the dark; extremely alarmed, Walter sat up and carefully put his hands on her shoulders. “Danny…Danny, it’s okay…”

“Walter!” It was half a sob and half a gasp, and suddenly she was burying her face into his shoulder, crying even harder as she clutched him.

“I’m here, Danny,” Walter assured her gently, though he was extremely worried. “It was merely a bad dream, whatever you saw. It’s okay…”

But she was shaking her head, chest heaving. “No, it wasn’t, you were…the kids…” She choked. “The kids, are they okay? Walter, they’re fine, right? They’re safe, they’re not-”

“The children are perfectly safe,” He interrupted, frowning to himself. “I checked on them less than an hour ago, and they were both asleep. I shall check on them again, if you want extra assurance.”

“No, it’s…that’s fine,” Daniels murmured, and he noticed she was still crying. “They’re…fine…you’re fine… Everything’s fine…”

“Do you wish to discuss what you saw in your nightmare?” He asked, concerned by her behaviour; she hadn’t had a nightmare this violent in years, and even then she hadn’t been this distraught before. “I can listen and offer some comfort, if you like.”

She was still trembling in his arms, her fingers gripping the fabric of his hoodie tightly even as she lifted her head enough to speak clearly. “It was…I came home, Walter, and you and the kids…it was so quiet, and I _knew_ something was wrong. A-And then David, he appeared, and he…” Her eyes filled with tears again. “He was saying things, trying to get a reaction, and they were disgusting – but it was only when he said he’d…” She took a deep breath, shaking her head to herself. “He disposed of _you_ ; he hurt you, he killed you-”

“I’m not able to be ‘killed’,” Walter reminded her carefully.

“But he did!” Daniels stated miserably. “He did, he shut you down and he took you apart, I _saw_ you lying in the kitchen…a-and then there were the children. He hurt our children, Walter, he…the fucker was using them for his experiments, he snapped their necks and cut them open…”

He didn’t have an imagination – but somehow the image of it was all too clear, and it made every part of him feel unpleasant. “That’s a disturbing dream, Daniels, and I understand how distressing it must have been all too well.” He paused, trying to clear the idea of this happening from his mind. “However, it’s not real and – most likely – never will be. Our children are safe, you are safe, and I am safe, I promise.”

“I know, I know…” She sniffed, still not letting go of him – she _needed_ to reassure herself he was real, that he was still with her. “But it just seemed so real, and…and if he _did_ , and he hurt our kids, I…I don’t know what I’d do, Walter.”

“I wouldn’t let anyone hurt our children,” Walter said seriously, and he meant it. “You know I wouldn’t – you and our children are the most important things to me, as I’m sure you’re aware, and I would do anything to keep you three safe.” He couldn’t help but grimace slightly. “If David _did_ find us – something that’s nearly impossible – then I would fight him myself with my bare hands to protect you and the children.”

Daniels sighed. “No, I know you would, of course you would – so would I. But it seemed so real…and he hurt _you_ , you were gone. You don’t get it,” She said tearfully. “You don’t understand how much you mean to me, even though I try to make you see it. When I saw you crumpled on the floor, I felt like…like a part of me _died_ , Walter.”

His hand came to rest on her back, even as he hesitated somewhat uncomfortably. “I do understand, but…but I am expendable. Replaceable, even.”

“No, you’re not!” She snapped half-heartedly. “Don’t you know how much it would _kill_ me if anything happened to you?! How much it would hurt our children?!”

“Danny…”

“Aside from the kids, you’re everything to me, Walter,” Daniels continued fiercely, even though there were more tears streaming down her face. “You’ve been there for me since we first left on that stupid ship; you helped me when Jake died, you were the only person who didn’t try to tell me how to feel – you even saved my life! A-And when we got here, you helped me build this cabin, you…” Her voice was growing softer, though no less serious. “I didn’t think I’d ever want to be with anyone else after what happened to Jake, but I did and it was you. I love you so much, everything about you, and you’re everything to me: you’ve been my friend, my _lover_ …we have a family together, you’re the father of _our_ kids, you know? You’re not replaceable in any sense of the word.”

Walter was silent for a moment, clearly taking her words in. “I see. When you phrase it like that…” He smiled, and it was so different to the smirk that the David in her dream had worn. “You know I love you too, Danny, and the children, more than I am capable of explaining – which is why I would _never_ let David come near you or the children. He’d never even get close to them, because I wouldn’t hesitate to deactivate him – that was my error when we met him. I had believed that perhaps he was capable of rehabilitation, and so I didn’t act sooner – but I know now what he is like, and because I know that, I wouldn’t hesitate this time to do it.”

“No,” She said quietly. “I know.”

“You, Jacob, and Maggie are safe,” He reiterated gently. “David will never hurt you again, Danny, and he will never hurt our children. I promise.”

As Walter continued to hold her, arms firm and comforting, Daniels couldn’t help but allow herself to relax and believe him: he made her feel loved and safe, and she knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to their family because he adored both of their children. He was driven by love for them, and it was a love that not even David’s sick fascinations would be able to rival.

 _David can go fuck himself_ , Daniels thought to herself, squeezing her lover closer to her, _because he’s not touching this family._

**Author's Note:**

> I suck at ending fics oops
> 
> Feedback is greatly appreciated :D
> 
> Like what I post? Why don't you check out [my Ko-fi page](https://www.ko-fi.com/meganwalsh)?


End file.
